Yeonwoo

Hey! I haven’t seen you in forever, marshmallow~~~ let’s catch up at the regular spot after curfew? :)

Yeonwoo scribbled down on her enchanted messenger book as she was taking the last bite off of the roast chicken leg in her left hand. She glanced over at her recipient’s table, awaiting the latter’s reaction as she put the bare chicken bone back on her plate.

Nancy Jewel McDonie…how would Yeonwoo describe her? The younger girl was essentially Yeonwoo’s younger counterpart. The girl maintained a strong following from her own House and had even gained some followers from the other Houses. She had shown extreme promise as a leader, and was appointed as a prefect during the start of the school year. She held a strong academic record that anyone else would have incessantly boasted about. To top it all off, her aesthetic appearance was already remarkably exquisite, even at the tender age of fifteen.

The only notable differences people normally pointed out would probably be that a) Nancy didn’t play Quidditch – it wasn’t her lack of athletic ability, far from it. The young girl showed proficient skill and aim in her flying class during her first year, and was scouted for her House’s Quidditch team to play as a Chaser immediately, but she politely declined, saying she was more of a Quadpot girl at heart…something about growing up in the United States or the like. Yeonwoo would still scoff and roll her eyes whenever she remembered that fact…‘What was that silly girl thinking? Quidditch is the best broom sport, period.’ she huffed at the thought – and b) Nancy seemed colder and more stand-offish than the older Gryffindor.

She knew for a fact that the second difference couldn’t be farther from the truth though. Yeonwoo had come to find that the younger girl was just extremely shy, and was always cautious about publicly expressing her feelings…and this has resulted in her maintaining a neutral expression which most people misunderstood as her being distant. It didn’t really help that about 90% of the time people saw her, she was either studying alone or in the company of her childhood friend, the exceptionally handsome and equally icy-looking Hansol Vernon Chwe. Because of the American duo’s ethereal beauty, cold appearances and glaring bright skin, some students liked to poke fun at them in hushed whispers, joking the two were probably vampires. Despite the mundane talk that surrounded the couple, everyone still held them in the highest regard. So everyone had called the pair the Princess and her Prince – titles only befitting of Slytherin Royalty.

Everyone had just assumed that the younger Slytherins were their House’s answer to her power coupling with Gryffindor’s Head Boy and celebrity Keeper Yoonoh ‘Jaehyun – the Wall’ Jung. And in any other universe, Yeonwoo would’ve seriously considered them as proper rivals who were a definite threat to Gryffindor winning the House Cup during her last year at Hogwarts…but life always had a funny way of changing things.

**********

– Start of the School Year –

Yeonwoo rushed past the Quidditch Pitch into the Hospital Wing, clutching her nose in her hands. A Bludger smacked her down in the middle of her face during practice, because Hyebin got distracted debating with JooE on which was better between Cauldron Cakes or Pumpkin Pasties –  in the middle of bloody practice!

‘Great, second week back in school, and I probably have a broken nose already. Stupid Hyebin.’ Yeonwoo internally cursed, slowing down as she neared the infirmary.

“Excuse me, Madam Pomfrey?” she called out to the open space

She saw the shadow of a person behind one of the hospital curtains. Yeonwoo squinted eyes to focus on the mysterious figure ‘It doesn’t look like Madam Pomfrey to me’

The figure drew the curtains to the side, revealing a striking young woman. Yeonwoo had seen the girl last week sitting on the Pitch Stands, as a show of silent support towards Slytherin’s new Seeker. She knew who this girl was. How could she not? There’s always been endless chatter about the girl’s visual magnificence.

‘Why is that brat Vernon’s girl here?’ Yeonwoo scowled as the younger girl walked towards her.

“Madam Pomfrey is out at the moment. She’s replenishing the Hospital Wing’s supplies and potions stock at Hogsmeade Village. I’m sorry.” The Slytherin girl explained, then continued “My name is Nancy, and I’m the volunteer assigned here for the meantime. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Uhm, I think a Bludger broke my nose during Quidditch practice.” She muttered through her hands “I’m not sure if you in particular can help me. I’ll just wait for Madam Pomfrey to come back” Yeonwoo said as she seated herself on the hospital bed closest to her

“No, it’s okay. I can handle it” Nancy coolly responded

“Are you sure?” the Seeker narrowed her eyes at the Slytherin girl in distrust

“Yes” the younger girl said, surprisingly in the middle of giggles. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen that girl smile before

“My dad is a Healer, and he’s taught me a thing or two over the years. Why do you think they allowed me to help around here?”

“If you say so…” Yeonwoo tried not to roll her eyes in front of the volunteer

Nancy took a seat at the end of the bed the Gryffindor was on and requested “Okay, could you please remove your hands from your face?”

The older girl complied, revealing her bloody and bulbous nose to the brunette. She tried not to stare at the young beauty, but the girl’s nose was just too…compelling. Yeonwoo suddenly felt like a potato since her nose wasn’t exactly in the best shape at that moment.

Nancy took her wand out and waved it towards Yeonwoo’s face “Episkey”

The Seeker suddenly felt a hot sensation in her nose, which was immediately followed by an immense cold rush. She cautiously moved to touch her nose, and everything seemed to be back to normal, aside from the dried blood that was soiling her face and hands.

“Here” the younger girl returned, offering her a clean piece of cloth and a metal basin filled with warm water “so you can clean up” the girl finished with a small smile.

“Thanks…” Yeonwoo murmured before she started wiping herself clean. The Slytherin was not only competent, but surprisingly tender and accommodating too – a far cry from the rumors that circulated around Hogwarts. And if the Gryffindor could be so bold, she was sure the younger girl’s smile could make the world stop to stare at its splendor.

“No worries” Nancy replied timidly

The younger girl handed her a Chocolate Frog and said “You can go back to Quidditch practice now if you’d like. And try not to get hit by any more Bludgers. Just let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with, Ms. Lee”

“Call me Yeonwoo” the Gryffindor answered with a cheeky grin as she received the sweet treat

“It seems so rude, calling you by your nickname so suddenly. We just met, and it all seems so…informal” the Slytherin shyly looked away, covering with a loose fist.

Yeonwoo scratched the back of her head. She was never really too big on proper decorum, and she was just so used to everyone calling her by her nickname. Then an idea popped into her head “Hey, your mom’s Korean, right?”

“Yes she is, but I don’t understand why you’d bring that up all of a sudden” the younger girl retorted

“Call me ‘Unnie’, then” the raven-haired girl broke into a wide grin

This caused another small chuckle to escape Nancy, as she agreed a little unsurely “Okay then…Unnie”

Yeonwoo slowly made her way out the door, but looked back at the younger girl “Oh yeah, uhm…before I go, would you mind if I added you over my enchanted messenger book?”

“Why’s that?” the younger girl tilted her head to the side

“Uhm. You know, because you said I should let you know if I need anything else…” the older girl held the back of her neck, a little embarrassed at her line of reasoning. She didn’t really know why she suddenly yearned to communicate more with the young Slytherin, but the young girl seemed very interesting to her.

“Alright” Nancy nodded, as she walked towards her bag to retrieve her messenger book. Yeonwoo took hers out of her Quidditch Robes’ pocket when the younger girl walked back towards her. The pair then tapped their respective wands over the other’s book to complete the process.

“Alright, I just want to send a test message” the Gryffindor said, as she walked towards Madam Pomfrey’s table to borrow a quill. She wrote down a short message on her book, and then slowly made her way to the exit.

The Slytherin looked down on her book to check on the message

Nancy is pretty~ ▽・ᴥ・▽

The young girl couldn’t help but turn a little red as she read the message, with the little puppy at the end. “Unnie!!!” She was flabbergasted as she looked up to see Yeonwoo. The older girl just responded with a mischievous laugh “I’ll see you around, Nancy!” 

*********

Yeonwoo smiled as she brought the memory of their first meeting to mind. She felt that everything in her life had become lighter and brighter after befriending the young Slytherin, and she really couldn’t imagine how she would’ve managed the high pressures of her seventh year in school without Nancy. In fact, she couldn’t even recall how she managed so well in the past, considering she wasted four years not bothering to form a bond with the younger girl. Still, the Gryffindor beauty was grateful to have formed this wonderful friendship at all, even if it was only during her last year at Hogwarts.

She wished they could’ve been normal friends, and interacted as such…but Gryffindor-Slytherin tensions had been especially high this school year amid Gryffindor’s allegations of unfair point deductions made against them in the last year, where Slytherin won the House Cup – breaking her House’s 5 year winning streak. It also didn’t help when Vernon finally decided to join the Slytherin Quidditch team as their Seeker earlier in the year (and as much as Yeonwoo hated to admit it, it was always neck to neck between her and the American boy). However, after she developed a friendship with Nancy…winning the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup didn’t seem as important anymore. As long as she still got to spend time with the younger girl, Yeonwoo was already really happy. Even if she had to confine that happiness in hidden places.

It’s been over two weeks though, and she still hadn’t hung out with or at the very least heard back from the Quadpot-loving Slytherin. She knew the younger girl’s O.W.L. Examinations were coming up, but it was really uncharacteristic of her to be completely unresponsive over their messenger books. Yeonwoo decided to start scribbling again

I completely understand you’ve been busy preparing for your O.W.L.s though! Still, I’m sure you’ll kick arse. Keep on fighting! We can just rain check to whenever you’re free again. Just let me know~ :D

Gryffindor’s star Seeker saw from the corner of her eye that the younger girl had begun writing on a book, so Yeonwoo hurriedly glanced down her messenger book, eagerly awaiting Nancy’s response.

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